Decorated hard surface covering and method of manufacturing the same



S P I935- J. c. MCCARTHY 2,013,472

DECORA'IED HARD SURFACE COVERING AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME Filed May 26,,1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR v. a Y s im mw P 1935 J. c. MCCARTHY 2,013,412

DECORATED HARD SURFACE COVERING AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME Filed May 26, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet? INVENTOR m-SW Patented Sept. 3, 1935 DECORATED HARD SURFACE COVERING AND THE SAME METHOD OF MANUFACTURING J. Clarence McCarthy, Lancaster, Pa., ,assignor to Armstrong Cork Company, Lancaster, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application May 26, 1930, Serial No. 455,693

4 Claims. (Cl. 91-673) This invention relates to decorated hard surface coverings and method of manufacturing the same, and is herein particularly described as applied to the manufacture of floor coverings by the 5 decoration of felt base material.

In the manufacture of felt base floor coverings, it is common practice to print an over-all decoration in oil paints and to protect the same by a top coating of lacquer or the like. It has l also been proposed to obtain certain decorative efiects by forming a decorative base and applying decorative elements to portions only of the material so that the base decoration shows therebetween. This invention is more specifically de- 15 scribed and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 320,948, filed November 21, 19 28. The material last referred to may or may not be protected with an overlying coat of lacquer, as desired. 20 Lacquer coatings, generally, while they are of value in materially lengthening the life and brightness of the fioor coverings, are, from their very nature, relatively so thin that it is necessary to renew them from time to time if full pro- 25 tection for the pattern is to be obtained. Fluid lacquer contains a large amount of sol'v'entand only a relatively small quantity of material which remains on the surface to which the lacquer has been applied, after evaporation of the solvent, and 30 therefore such coats, from their very nature, are penetrative in character. Most printed floor coverings are made by printing the design on an all-over base coat. The base coat is usually a relatively low-priced oil paint and is somewhat po- 35 rous in its nature. Therefore, there is a tendency for the lacquer to travel into the base coat and. to be largely absorbed thereby.

In printed floor coverings of the ordinary type, the base coat is entirely covered by decorative 10 paints, but as hereinafter described, this is not true in the present invention.

While a floor covering naturally wears to some extent, the greatest factor contributing to deterioration thereof is the solvent action of soap 45 and water on the oils of the paint. The soap saponifies the oils in the paint and this, coupled with the mechanical attrition resulting from scrubbing, results in a relatively rapid removal of the paint. This condition is emphasized where 50 there are upstanding paint decorations, as provided inmy copending application above referred to. Such floor coverings, while they have numerous advantages from the standpoint of appearance and otherwise, are somewhat subject to rapid 55 deterioration by reason of the fact that soap or soapy water may collect in the depressions of the material and, further, because the edges of the upstanding paint decoration provide shoulders which-may be readily attacked during scrubbing.

I have found that these difficulties may be overcome and a highly superior product obtained by forming a base coat, applying a suitable protective coat thereover, and then applying further decoration over the protective coat if desired. A final protective coat lying over the last applied decorations may be employed. The base coat will ordinarily be executed in an oil paint and may in itself possess decorative qualities, or

a decoration may be applied thereto in the form of a thin paint, 'an ink, a metallic paint or the like. By reason'of the porous nature of the oil paint, I prefer to employ aprotective coating of varnish. The varnish, even though relatively thin, contains considerably more solid matter than thecommercial lacquers, and is more effective for closing pores and forming a continuous protective coating over the base. After this varnish has dried, the overlying decorations are applied. These may be put on by printing, stenciling, or any other suitable operation. Ordinarily, these decorations will be laid on relatively thick, and will therefore be upstanding from the general level of the protective coating. They will be so placed that part of the base coat will show bemay be tinted or colored. In this way, many de- 40 sirable effects can be obtained, particularly since the varnish coatwill be obscured except between the last applied decorativeelements.

The oil paints are relatively non-porous, and, althoughthe lacquer coat may be absorlmed to some degree by the overlying paint decorations, there will be a good lacquer film over the paint and a relatively thicker film in the depressions between the overlying decorative elements. This film, by reason of the surface-tension and capillary of the lacquer when applied, will form well rounded fillets adjacent the shoulders of the overlying decorations and afford the utmost protection therefor. The lacquer and the varnish are mutually adherent and cooperate to form a matrix in which the paint body forming the overlying decorative fillets will be encased. The ma.-' terial is therefore well protected at all points and has superior mechanical qualities on this account.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating a present preferred embodiment of the invention,

Figures 1 to 5 inclusive, are diagrammatic views illustrating successive steps in the manufacture of my improved product;

Figures In to 4p, inclusive, are views corresponding to Figures 1 to 4 and showing the product after each step in the manufacturing operation;

Figure 6 is a. top plan view of a portion of the finished material; and

Figure 7 is a sectional view thereof.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 1p, there is shown a web 2 of felt base material which is moved under a doctor blade 3 behind which there is maintained a pool 4 of oil paint. As the ma.- terial passes under thedoctor blade, it is supported on a rubber web or blanket 5. The doctor blade 3 is notched and serves to meter the amount of paint supplied to each unit of area of the web 2. The paint is flattened by a springlike doctor blade 6, thus producing a smooth, uniform, continuous base coat I.

The coating mechanism illustrated diagrammatically in Figure 1 is in the invention of Daniel S. Holt and is more fully described and claimed in his application Serial No. 589,860, filed Jan. 30, 1932.

After the coating material has been stoved, there may be applied an open-work design in the nature of a textured effect. Such decoration may extend over the entire area of the paint coat 1 or on certain selected portions only thereof, e. g., it may be applied only' to part or all of the portions ofthe base coat which are ultimately to be left exposed. Ordinarily, however, it is preferred to print it in an open design' over the entire area of the base coat, since this removes any problem, on subsequent printing, of registration. The means for applying this decorative coat is indicated in Figure 2. The material travels over a drum 8 and the decorative ink is applied by means of an offsetting roller 9 which receives ink or paint from a pattern roll I0. The pattern roll is supplied with ink through ink rollers l l and a ductor roll [2 and moves between one of the inking rollers l l and a fountain roll I3 in an ink fountain M. The resulting material is shown in Figure 2p, where the ink decoration is indicated at I5.

I have found that the overlying protective varnish coat may be applied while the ink decorations l5 are still wet. In Figure 3 there are indicated spray guns I 6 which deposit a thin film of varnish I! over the entire surface of the goods, as shown in Figure 3p. After the material leaves the spray guns it is fed to a stove, not shown, where the Varnish is dried. The varnish fills the pores of the paint coat and provides an overlying transparent or translucent seal coat. v Of course, the ink or oil paint may be dried prior to application of the varnish coat, if desired. In such case, the varnish will ordinarily be applied by a doctor blade or a rubber roll.

The ink decoration is very thinabout .0002

I inch. Because ofthis thinness, it is necessary to give the ink adequate protection. The varnish is several times as thick, and very tough in charapplying overlying paint decorations l9. It will be noted that these are relatively thick and stand up from the surface of the varnish coat l1. After the material has again been stoved to dry the oil paint, the material is passed between rolls 20 behind the upper of which a pool 21 of lacquer is maintained. A film of lacquer is thus laid over the entire top surface of the goods and the film is dried in a hood 22, having a pipe 23 for taking off the evaporated solvent. The product is now finished and may be rolled up as indicated at 24.

enclosing the paint bodies which form the last.

applied decorative elements.

It will be noted that the lacquer film lies at a relatively low level between the decorative elements l9. While the film, as laid, will havea substantially plane top surface, the depressions will appear, by reason of the fact that a very large percentage of liquid lacquer is solvent, which is evaporated in the hood 22. be relatively thicker in the depressions than on top of the decorative elements l9, thus affording still further protection for the shoulders of such elements.

The pattern shown in Figure 6 is illustrative only of the process, and it will be understood that the invention may be carried out in any number of. different patterns. In Figure 6, the base coat I and the textured decoration l5 are exposed between the decorative elements I 9. It will be seen that a wide variety of effects may be obtained, particularly by the use of different colors in the several decorative elements, the base coat, the varnish coat, or the lacquer coat.

I have-illustrated and described a present preferred embodiment of the invention. It will be understood, however, that it is not limited to the form shown, but may be otherwise embodied or practiced within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. As an article of manufacture, a decorated flexible hard surface covering comprising a flexible base, a relatively porous base coat on said base, a decoration on said base coat lying substantially fiat thereon with portions of the base coat exposed, an overlying transparent protective coat of varnish-like consistency sealing the pores in The lacquer will said base coat, and decorative elements executed in a material of such body as to stand in relief overlying portions only of the protective coat with portions of the base coat and the first decoration visible therebetween.

2. As. an article of manufacture, a decorated flexible hard surface covering comprising a flexible base, a relatively porous base coat on said base, a decoration on said base coat executed in a light-bodied material with such design as to leave portions of the base coat exposed, an overlying transparent protective coat of. varnish-like consistency sealing the pores in said base coat and forming a relatively impervious surface, decorative elements executed in a material of such body as to stand in relief overlying portions only of the protective coat with portions of the base coat and the first decoration visible therebetween, and a protective coat of lacquer overlying said decorative elements and the exposedportions of the firstmentioned protective coat.

3. As an article of manufacture, a decorated flexible hard surface covering comprising a flexible base, a relatively porous base coat on said base, a textured decoration lying substantially flat on said base coat with portions of the base coat exposed, an overlying transparent protective coat of varnish sealing the pores in said base coat, and decorative elements executed in oil paint overlying portions only of the protective coat with portions oi the base coat and the first decoration visible therebetween.

4. As an article of manufacture, a decorated flexible hard surface covering comprising a flex- I lble base, a relatively porous base coat on said base, a textured decoration executed in ink lying substantially flat on said base coat with portions of the base coat exposed, an overlying transparent protective coat of varnish sealing the pores in said base coat, decorative elements executed in an oil paint overlying portions only of the protective coat with portions of the base coat and the first decoration being visible therebetween, and a 19. 

